Looking for pool ideas to inspire your backyard oasis? While it's a major investment, the benefits of adding a pool to a property are undeniable.
And a swimming pool is a backyard idea that can beautify the space and create a place to exercise, have fun with the family, entertain, and simply relax by the water.
We've collected swimming pool ideas to inspire here, including designs large and small, as well as natural options that will allow you to complement your backyard landscaping ideas with the perfect pool.
Pool Ideas
Be inspired by pool ideas for every yard and pool landscaping ideas that will make them the perfect fit, and take advice from the experts.
1. Invest In Your Pool Retreat
(Image credit: Future / Mark Bolton)
Installing a heated pool in a sunny, sheltered spot close to the house or a garden building, such as a pool house with a dedicated changing area, creates the experience of a luxury holiday home, and if you're wondering 'how do I add luxury to my backyard?' then this has to be top of the list.
Garden and landscape designer Janine Pattison recommends a consistent water depth of 1.4m, deep enough for adults to swim in and also suitable for older children to enjoy safely.
An automatic safety cover will keep children from harm when the pool is not in use, advises Tom Holman, director of Fowler Swimming Pools.
2. Take Your Swimming Pool To The Edge
(Image credit: Courtesy of Joseph Richardson Landscape Architecture)
Infinity-style pools blur the lines between the water and the landscape and are ideal for a contemporary yard with a panoramic view.
'For a classic home, choose a conventional pool and frame the views so they can be enjoyed while swimming,' says Janine Pattison.
This garden in Virginia, designed by landscape architect Joseph Richardson, features an infinity-edge pool overlooking the woods.
'We had originally planned to add a more traditional pool to the terrace but decided that an infinity edge was the perfect way to spotlight the property's steeply pitched, wooded terrain.'
3. Keep The Pool Area Hidden From The Rest Of The Backyard
(Image credit: Future)
Swimming pools need not be rectangular slabs of blue hidden away in a corner. Good designs should work with your backyard rather than against its natural flow.
Russell Page, the influential mid-20th-century garden designer, had a good deal to say about swimming pools. Spending much of his later career designing fine gardens in the Mediterranean for his wealthy clients, he found that pools were usually required.
Though Page scoffed at what he called 'Hollywood' pools of 'gold and green and blue mosaic, marble or plaster columns, white wooden "pergolas" and masks spitting water', he approved of the simple rectangular pool set apart, preferably screened off by a wall or hedge.
4. Let A Hidden Pool Sparkle In The Summer – And Winter
(Image credit: Future / Matthew Williams)
In an urban area, use clever pool area ideas that maximize privacy, such as plants, screens and canopies, to shield your pool from neighbours' windows and to hide it when it is covered during the winter.
A small round or rectangular plunge pool can double as a water feature, providing a beautiful focal point in your outdoor space.
Regularly using a surface skimmer and a robotic cleaner to remove dirt and debris from the bottom will help to keep your pool clean and clear of fallen leaves and insects.
5. Plan A Pool That Fits In With The Surrounding Space
(Image credit: Future / Polly Eltes)
Rural period houses can look at odds with a modern tiled pool.
If you're wondering how to landscape a backyard with a pool, garden designer Andy Sturgeon advises edging the pool with York or sandstone and lining it with tiles to match the paving to create a more natural appearance.
A pool house that echoes the architecture of the property and an Italianate-style planting scheme will also help blend the pool into a traditional landscape.
'For a cohesive design, link the planting around the pool with that in the area beyond,' says Andrew Fisher Tomlin.
6. Illuminate Your Pool
(Image credit: Future / Mark Bolton )
'Good pool lighting ideas help to make swimming safer and add ambience and drama to a design,' says Janine Pattison. 'We use LEDs in and around our pools because they have long lives and lower running costs. They also have the colour-change capability to create different moods at the touch of a button.'
7. Provide A Beautiful Vista From The Pool
(Image credit: Rob Cardillo Photography)
Designed by Land Morphology and often called one of the 'most significant gardens in Connecticut', The InSitu Garden integrates hard landscaping, abundant planting, modern art and elements of water elements spiritually inspiring gardens.
The much-adored pool is set in a picturesque landscape with meadows, woodland gardens and lawns. This garden 'room' offers expansive vistas through the garden and to the distant hills.
8. Keep Your Pool Area Secluded From Prying Eyes
(Image credit: Future / James Merrell)
In a densely populated area, use plants, screens and canopies to shield your pool from neighbours' windows and to disguise it during the winter when it will be covered.
A round or rectangular plunge pool that doubles as a water feature will create a beautiful focal point when it is revealed as you walk through the garden.
If space allows, go big. Infinity-edged pools offer an exciting swimming experience for your pool party guests, blurring the line between the water and the landscape beyond.
Ideal for a contemporary garden with panoramic views, infinity pools are the designers' choice for modern settings.
9. Instil A Sense Of Harmony
(Image credit: Belgard)
'You can lay porcelain pavers on the grass to create harmony between hardscapes and softscapes,' Raboine explains. 'A retaining wall behind the pool chairs allows for the sloped area to be utilized for plantings and additional greenery.'
Also, feel free to play with different levels.
Adding different levels, like a step-down seating area or an outdoor kitchen a few steps above the plane of the pool, helps to delineate the various' zones' of your backyard and helps the whole space feel more open.
10. Enjoy Natural Pool Benefits
(Image credit: Clear Water Revival)
Demand for natural pools has increased as new, more practical and flexible technologies have been brought to the market, allowing natural water swimming in any pool, whether indoors or outdoors, heated and covered.
The latest versions also lead to lower running costs due to lower water turnover frequency. 'Clients are typically health conscious and don't like swimming in harsh chemicals which damage skin and can cause long-term health problems,' explains Joel Scott of Bristol-based Clear Water Revival.
11. Consider An Indoor Pool
(Image credit: Photograph Davide Lovatti/Futurecontent.com)
Once it was a given that indoor pools would see much more use, but recent events have changed perspectives.
Pool designers Guncast have seen a 150 per cent increase in demand for outdoor pools – and it shows no signs of slowing down, says design director Andy Carr. He adds that high-tech, space-saving solutions, including those with moving floors, are also popular.
'But it's important to think about how you plan to use the pool: is it a year-round spa experience you're after, or is it more for summer entertaining?' he asks. 'Would you prefer the idea of an outdoor oasis at the end of the garden, or rather have facilities that are easy to dip into every day?'
What To Consider When Planning A Swimming Pool
There are three main construction options: a waterproof reinforced concrete shell, a PVC liner, and a fibreglass or ceramic moulded shell lowered into a pre-excavated hole. Whatever the choice, try to integrate the pool into the surroundings.
Water-Cleaning Options
Chlorine is still the best-known and most widely employed solution for keeping water clean. It's inexpensive to buy and easy to use, but there are alternatives, including ionization, ultra-violet and active oxygen treatments, which can assist or complement chlorine.
Salt-water pools use electrolysis to produce just enough chlorine to disinfect the water, but it costs more to build as the cleaning mechanism is more complicated. Chlorine-free pools are perfect for sensitive skin and are better for health and the environment.
How Much Does A Swimming Pool Cost?
If you're wondering how much it cost to build a pool, Tom Holman explains:
'The price of a pool is based on many factors. A vinyl-lined pool may cost $50,000, while a concrete or tiled pool of the same size will cost $60,000. Other variables include site access, heating, automatic safety covers, water treatments, lighting and paving materials.'
In the UK, the cost of installing an outdoor swimming pool varies significantly according to the style, finish and infrastructure surrounding it. For a no-frills in-ground pool, a PVC liner option will cost £35,000. Ben Horne of Middleton Advisors estimates a traditional outdoor pool to cost between £85,000 and £150,000.
Two approaches that will help to keep costs down are opting for a prefabricated design and keeping the pool at one depth (deep ends are expensive to build and heat). If aiming for a fully tiled natural pool with an automatic pump and an air-source heating system, budgets start from £150,000. Compass Pools estimates £180,000 to build a medium-sized indoor pool with a cover.
How Much Does It Cost Maintain A Pool?
Generally, an indoor pool is more expensive to run than an outdoor pool put to sleep during the winter. However, it's often a good idea to keep the heating and cleaning systems ticking at a low level throughout the cooler months. They then take two to three weeks to recommission in the late spring.
Indoor pools require servicing every two weeks to check chemical levels, backwash and carry out routine maintenance (owners or professionals can do this).
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